Force-torque sensors of this type are known, for example from DE 36 11 336 C2 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,531. With the aid of this type of force-torque sensor, which is housed inside an input device, linear displacements or rotatory deflections can be measured and converted directly into translatory and rotatory motions or velocities of an object to be controlled. Automated machines, robots, manipulators or comparable systems, as well as 3D computer graphics may be controlled in this manner, for example.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,360 describes a process and an input device for a multi-dimensional input that is based on the recognition of movements and accelerations whereby a specific analog sequence of movements is identified in the form of a motion pattern from which motion commands are derived and sent to an animated graphic display. The motion patterns are recognized by means of a pattern recognition algorithm. General control commands are additionally generated as well.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,473 a multi-dimensional position sensor is furthermore known, which has a multitude of pressure sensors provided on its surface.
It is the object of the invention to reliably and deliberately trigger specific technical control operations and/or an execution of technical functions by means of an input device with a force-torque sensor without having to fall back on stored pressure patterns, for example.
According to an inventive process for triggering technical control operations and/or for triggering the execution of technical functions using a manually operated input device with a force-torque sensor, pressure is exerted on a user interface of the input device, as a result of which a pulse is generated, which is measured with the aid of a force-torque sensor and converted into a pair of vectors formed by a force vector and a torque vector. This vector pair is subsequently checked to determine whether certain predefined characteristic pulse conditions are met or not met. As soon as the predefined pulse conditions are identified as having been met, at least one technical control operation to be performed by means of the input device and assigned to a certain object to be controlled, and/or also at least one technical function to be executed by means of the input device is triggered by switching to an activation state.
According to an advantageous improvement of the inventive process, the pulse is furthermore recognized as a pressure pulse based on certain predefined characteristic pulse conditions, so that at least one control operation that is assigned to a certain object and to be carried out by means of the input device, and/or at least one technical function, can then be triggered by switching to the activation state. According to a further preferred improvement of the invention the pulse is generated through pressure exerted in a bounded pressure area on the user interface of the input device. It should be noted that the user interface may also have a plurality of such pressure areas.
According to the invention, the pulse may preferably also be generated on the user interface in such a manner that it is oriented towards a measuring center provided in the force-torque sensor. In accordance with the invention, the force vector and the torque vector may be furthermore evaluated across a predetermined time segment to determine whether the certain predefined characteristic pulse conditions are precisely met. Furthermore, the time progression of the force and torque vector may also be evaluated as to whether the predefined pulse conditions are met.
The maximum possible number of pressure areas on the user interface and, accordingly, also the corresponding number of activation states that can be attained by switching, is limited by the accuracy of a force-torque sensor, as well as, if applicable, also by the size of the user interface.
In accordance with the invention, in a preferred system for carrying out the process the input device with a force-torque sensor has a user interface on which at least one area for entering a pressure pulse is defined and that area is assigned to a very specific object. The input device furthermore incorporates a device for evaluating and identifying a pulse measured by means of the force-torque sensor and converted into a corresponding force and torque vector pair. The device for evaluating and identifying a pulse converted into a vector pair may also be housed outside the input device and connected to same.
To be able to easily identify the area defined for entering a pressure range on a user interface, or to be able to identify and distinguish a plurality of defined pressure areas on a user interface, the pressure area or areas may have a special design or may be made identifiable and/or also provided with appropriately implemented and optionally raised surfaces or colored reference symbols.
According to the invention, an input device with a force-torque sensor can be used both as a switch and at the same time also for the execution of technical control operations and/or functions. A preferred input device with a force-torque sensor is an opto-electronic setup described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,531, which can be used for the simultaneous input of six components in and around the rotational axes of a Cartesian coordinate system.
The system for carrying out the inventive process may be used to control objects such as navigation systems, particularly those that use data received via GPS reception. An intuitive spatial control in the three translatory and the three rotatory directions can thus be advantageously transferred, for example, to the navigation on maps.
The objects may furthermore also be real and/or virtual multi-media systems, such as a video recorder with an integrated cutting and editing workstation, for example, in which the input device with a force-torque sensor may be used as a switch and subsequently for the execution of technical control operations and/or functions.
A system for carrying out the inventive process may also be used to control a real or virtual mixing or control desk, for instance for controlling the development of novel color, light and sound compositions. In this application, the intuitive spatial control in the three translatory and the three rotatory directions can advantageously be transferred to a continuously adjustable spatial mixing or control of a large number of parameters (3D cursor).
A system for carrying out the inventive process may also be used to control an information center from which a navigation system, three-dimensional (3D) weather maps, radio and television sets, the Internet, a monitor cursor, or the like may be controlled, or personal identification data may be transmitted, via a monitor or a telephone, for example. With this application it is possible to use the intuitive spatial control in the three translatory and the three rotatory directions for the positioning and also for the navigation of menu fields.
In all of the above applications, supplementing command and menu functions may additionally also be directly activated and selected via the operating elements. This avoids complicated nesting levels, for which many times the number of switches and operating elements, e.g., potentiometers and the like, must be used.
According to the invention an input device with a force-torque sensor can, therefore, be used not only for an analog control of up to six components, namely the three translatory and the three rotatory components, but an input device of this type according to the invention can at the same time also be used as a digitally operating switch to trigger technical control operations assigned to one or more objects, and/or to optionally trigger subsequent technical functions, by switching to activation states.
The system for carrying out the inventive process can, therefore, in a particularly advantageous manner, be used as a type of multifunctional switch in a manner whereby switching operations are identified as such and this results in technical control operations and/or technical functions being executed immediately afterwards.
According to the invention, four physically separated pressure areas, for example, which may be assigned to four different objects, may be defined on a user interface of an input device. Up to six different control operations and/or technical functions can be triggered on each of these objects and subsequently executed after the given object has been switched to the activation state. Or, in other words, an input device with a force-torque sensor designed according to the invention may be used in the above example to execute a total of 24 different technical control operations and/or functions on four different objects.
On the basis of an input device with a force-torque sensor, a kind of multi-functional switch has thus been created in accordance with the invention that operates without any kind of contacts, i.e., contactless and thus perfectly wear-free, and, accordingly, has an extremely high service life. On top of that, with this type of input device with a force-torque sensor, any occurring malfunctions, like shock effects or vibrations, can easily be measured and subsequently filtered out.